Kiya and the God of Chaos

by Philippa Bower

  Chapter Thirty Seven: A Visit from Seth

  In the days that followed the departure of Laylos and Huy, Kiya showed her mother how to make creams. Ground leaves, seeds and roots were mixed with thick honey and put into clay pots to be sold, each one accompanied by an appropriate spell. One cream was to be applied to the temples for headaches, another was an anti-aging cream used to keep the skin soft. For rubbing lotions the leaves were torn and the ingredients left in olive oil to infuse. For digestive pills and laxatives the ground ingredients were mixed with beeswax and chalk then packed into papyrus envelopes. Soon Ramala had a fine collection of jars and packets to take to town.

  “Are you sure it’s safe to go to market?” said Kiya, as she helped pack the medicines into bags.

  “Of course it is. Things have settled down and Teos will be there to protect me. Besides, I am eager to see how my new business will take off.” Ramala gathered up the bags and took them outside to where Teos was waiting with the donkey.

  Kiya followed. “Perhaps I should come with you,” she suggested, eager to escape the confines of home.

  “Oh, no,” said Teos. “There are too many soldiers about. Huy said we must keep you hidden.”

  So Kiya helped her parents load Enno with the medicines and waved them off to market. She tidied the main room, cleaned the kitchen area and regarded her mother’s loom with displeasure. Should she continue her mother’s weaving, or should she pick some dates? She sighed. If something exciting didn’t happen soon she would die of boredom.

  Kiya picked up a basket and went outside. The flood was receding. Soon the path to the palm grove would be revealed, but for now the trees were cut off by a few inches of muddy water. She hoisted her shift up to her knees and waded across.

  Her favourite palm tree was one that had tilted so its trunk was easy to climb, like a steep pathway to the spread of strong-ridged leaves at the crown. Many a time she had hidden up here in her childhood and now she climbed to her favourite spot and gazed down the valley at the obelisks of Thebes, thrusting up like needles from the grey mass of the city. Kiya’s thoughts turned to Anubis. The lunar cycle was nearing completion and she wondered what would happen when he emerged from the lake and found the temple closed.

  A small cloud of spiralling sand drifted towards her like a tiny whirlwind. Kiya stared at it in fascination. It reached the tree and rose until it whirled beside her. Kiya smelled the familiar aroma of frankincense. Terror overwhelmed her. She wanted to throw herself from the tree, but before she could gather enough courage, the sand condensed into a young man who stood looking down at her with amusement.

  “Have mercy, Lord Seth,” she pleaded.

  “Why? What have you done to offend me?” His voice was light and mocking, a world away from the deep, resonant voice of Anubis.

  “I have upset your priest, Massui.”

  “Massui? He is a mere mortal – he means nothing to me.”

  Could this really be Seth who stood beside her? Without his smell Kiya would never have recognised him. She had expected Seth to resemble a demon, not a handsome youth, with flame-red hair, golden skin and fine features.

  He sat down, so close that they were almost touching. “I have been making enquiries about you. Is it true that you were conceived in the temple by an unknown man?”

  “Yes, my Lord. My mother was raped in the shrine of Osiris,” she said.

  He nodded. “I thought as much. You aroused my curiosity when you became aware of my presence at Massui’s palace - no mortal has done that before. I asked Hathor, who has taken an interest for a different reason. She told me everything.”

  The intensity of his gaze made Kiya uncomfortable. She cast her eyes down. “Hathor hates me,” she said.

  “Hate?” Seth gave a sneering laugh. “That is too strong a word. The foolish woman dislikes all mortals who presume to love Anubis and there have been many of them. Over the years he has become an accomplished seducer but I am disappointed that you fell for his charms. I hoped you would know better.”

  “Why should I know better?”

  “Because you are my daughter!”

  Kiya gaped at him, her mind in a whirl. “Are you the man who raped my mother?”

  He shrugged. “Rape is too strong a word. Believe me, I can seduce a woman with more skill than Anubis, but sometimes I cannot be bothered. A bit of a struggle is always exciting. Though, as I remember it, she failed to put up much of a fight.”

  Kiya was appalled by his lack of remorse. “That was a terrible thing to do.”

  “She should count herself honoured. After all, her dance was intended to seduce my brother, which is a pointless waste of time because he is dead.”

  Kiya’s sense of outrage gave her the courage to say, “He is dead because you killed him.”

  “That’s true, but it was a fair fight,” Seth laughed. “I have hidden his ka, so his wife cannot bring him back to life again. It has given me centuries of amusement to watch her search.”

  “You are cruel,” Kiya said.

  “I have no interest in your moral judgements, but I am curious about your gifts. Hathor tells me that you can identify gods by their scent. What do I smell like?”

  “Frankincense.”

  Seth smirked. “That is not unpleasant.”

  “No,” agreed Kiya. “It’s rather nice.”

  “What other gifts do you have?”

  “None that I know of.”

  “Really?” he drawled. “You cannot make yourself invisible or travel upon winds?”

  “No,” she said and smiled at the matter-of-fact way he reeled off such marvels.

  “You have inherited none of my attributes, then. Disappointing.”

  “I can assure you that I am not disappointed,” she said. “Nobody would choose to be the daughter of a devil.”

  “A devil?” he mused over the word. “I suppose I could accept that, but it’s not entirely true. I am on the side of nature, rather than man. Does that make me a devil? Only in the eyes of mankind.” His voice became gentle. “You should have seen the primeval forest in this valley before mankind came, Kiya. Every animal you could think of lived here. They fought and bred and survived and died, their lives entwining in a glorious tapestry.” He paused and frowned. “Then that meddling glory-seeker, Osiris, led the people here. He showed them how to destroy the trees, drive out the animals and tend their little square fields. Every year the same few crops, every year the same tedious, controlled lives.”

  “Is that why you killed your brother?” asked Kiya.

  “Of course. It was not an easy thing to do but I was fighting for the natural world.” Seth sighed. ”Although I won, it was a hollow victory. The people remembered his teaching and continued with their agriculture. Look how they revere him. He has temples and shrines everywhere. I have nothing – just a few recalcitrant priests.” He looked at Kiya and she could see his pain. “Can you blame me for sometimes pretending to be my brother and hiding in his statues?”

  “No, of course not.” Kiya felt genuine pity for the man who claimed to be her father.

  “I was hoping that, if Osiris remained dead, the people would forget his teaching and return to being hunter-gatherers, like the animals of the forest. Since they cling to their agriculture, I cannot reclaim the valley until I kill them all.” Kiya gazed at him in horror and he grinned at her. “I am stating an obvious fact not a declaration of intent.” He seemed to be giving reassurance, but there was menace in his eyes and she realised that her father was a very dangerous man indeed. He looked beyond her and grimaced. “Someone is coming, I must go. Goodbye, Kiya.”

  “No, wait! Am I going to see you again?”

  “I doubt it. You are too much of a mortal to be of interest.” He raised a hand in farewell and even as he did so his body dematerialised into swirling sand grains that drifted away on the wind. Kiya gazed after the receding cloud, feeling strangely bereft.